As you’ve probably heard Attorney General Pam Bondi has miraculously made the “Epstein Files” disappear. Maga world is pissed. They are obsessed with everything Epstein. Adamant conspiracy theorists among them are convinced such a list would be riddled with the names of prominent Democrats, thus linking them to Epstein’s pedophilic enterprise. Bondi already disappointed them with the release of the first phase of the declassified Epstien files in February, which revealed nothing new. To ward off criticism she boldly stated later she had thousands of pages of new material on her desk waiting for her review. FBI Director Patel and FBI Deputy Director Bongino, who before their government appointments were promoting their own Epstein conspiracy theories, are now in sync with Bondi, saying there is nothing to see here. Now it’s not just Maga members who want answers. And the die hard Maga crowd wants Bondi fired! What’s going on? Hmmm. There is this. Grabbing is Kind of His Thing Leftist conspiracy theory or not, this is the kind of thing that typically shrinks a politicians nuts. And Bondi was chosen to be Trump’s AG to specifically protect the family jewels and castrate Trump’s enemies.
How is Trump handling the Epstein situation? Well he did get a little “teste” when asked about it during a July 8th cabinet meeting. Someone Poked a Sore Spot And the next day Trump’s justice department initiated an investigation of formet FBI Director Comey and former CIA chief Brennan. The Top Branch of Trump’s Enemies Tree How many times have we seen Trump pull diversion out of his play book when things get a little toasty. From appearances any investigation in this regard will be an exercise in futility. It’s old news already covered by the the exhaustive Durham report.
On the topic of Trump retribution, how about the 50% tariff on Brazil. Birds of a Feather This is just another example of what really motivates Trump- his lust for power. This has nothing to do with economics. It’s all about power, the power to do just about whatever he wants as president. He has no business meddling in another sovereign nation’s judicial procedures.
And to the point, Trump’s understanding of tariffs is just that- leveraging his power, to bully, a blunt instrument to be used indiscriminantly without regard to repercussions. Nevermind the damage to our country and other nations of the world. It’s becoming clear he has little proper perception of the nuances of applying tariffs. All the mind-spinning whipsawing with tariffs is reminiscent of his incoherent rally ramblings he called “the weave.” It’s a method of masking his incompetence, but it doesn’t matter because he is ever confident in his power to intimidate. But that doesn’t seem to be working with his tariffs . So far, of the 90 tariff deals Trump was supposed to have signed off on in 90 days, the score is zero. In hand are just two cursory agreements without official details.
Trump is hardly concerned with affairs of the nation. He doesn’t seem to even want to be in charge of some aspects of governing. Recently when there was a Ukranian weapons pause, he was initially surprised about the incident, and admitted he had no idea who stopped the shipments. (Spoiler allert- it was Hegseth’s Department of Defense). Trump’s chief interests are personal, and confined principally to three things- staying out of jail, retribution, and personal enrichment. I think you can safely say, from Trump’s perspective anyway, so far this second term has been a resounding success.